Mw 7.0 Mainshock
On Tuesday, 12 January at 21:53 UTC (04:53 pm local time) a powerful magnitude 7.0 (moment magnitude, Mw) earthquake occurred in south Haiti, close to the capital of Port-au-Prince. The USGS have determined a fixed shallow depth estimate of 8.1 miles (13 km) and an epicentral location of 18.457N 72.533W, approximately 15 miles (25 km) west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti; 80 miles (130 km) east of Les Cayes, Haiti; and 700 miles (1125 km) southeast of Miami, USA.

The earthquake was widely felt across Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the southeast Bahamas, Jamaica and the northeast and southeast coasts of Cuba. According to the USGS Shakemap, the region of Ouest department, to the west and northwest of the epicentre, experienced the highest intensity, violent shaking (up to IX on the Modified Mercalli Intensity, MII, scale) which has the potential to cause heavy damage to property. Regions of the departments of Ouest, Sud-est and Nippes would also have experienced severe shaking (MMI VIII) which has the potential to cause moderate-to-heavy damage. The two cities closest to the epicentre are Port-au-Prince (population 1.1 million) and Jacmel (population 40,000) experienced up to intensity VII (very strong) shaking on the MMI scale according to ShakeMap. This intensity of shaking can be expected to cause moderate damage to property.

Following the earthquake, the NOAA/NWS/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center indicated that a strong earthquake had occurred, but a tsunami was not expected along the coasts of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico states, and Eastern Canadian provinces. In addition, no tsunami warning, watch or advisory was put in place for these areas. An initial tsunami warning was issued for the Caribbean region by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and then cancelled shortly thereafter. According to the NOAA, a tsunami measuring 4.7 inches (12 cm) crest-to-trough was recorded at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and a tsunami with less than 0.4 inches (1 cm) crest-to-trough was recorded on a deep ocean gauge in the east-central Caribbean.

Tectonic Setting
This earthquake occurred in the boundary region that separates the Caribbean and North America tectonic plates. The predominant styles of deformation in this area are left-lateral strike-slip fault motions and compression; together they accommodate some 0.8 inches/yr (20 mm/yr) of slip as the Caribbean plate moves eastwards with respect to the North America plate.

Fault plane solutions calculated in the aftermath of this event by the USGS and other agencies indicate that the mechanism of the earthquake is consistent with having occurred as left-lateral strike-slip faulting on the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system in southern Haiti. This is a major east-west trending strike-slip fault system which accommodates approximately 0.3 inches/yr (7mm/yr) of the motion between the Caribbean and North America plates.

The Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system has not generated a major earthquake in recent decades. It is thought that this system is the likely source of the large earthquakes in 1860, 1770, 1761, 1751, 1684, 1673, and 1618, though none of these events have been directly confirmed in the field.

Aftershocks
By 10:00 UTC on Friday, 22 January there had been 54 aftershock of Mw 4.0 or greater in the vicinity of the Mw7.0 mainshock; the vast majority occurring to the west of the mainshock.

The USGS has reported that the two largest aftershocks both measured Mw5.9. The first of these occurred at 22:00 UTC (5:00 pm local time) on Wednesday, 13 January, several minutes after the mainshock. This aftershock was assigned a fixed focal depth of 6.2 miles (10 km) by the USGS and an epicentral location of 18.36N 72.82W, approximately 20 miles (30 km) west-southwest of the mainshock. The second Mw5.9 aftershock occurred at 11:03 UTC on Wednesday, 20 January, eight days after the mainshock. The USGS reported a fixed focal depth of 6.2 miles (10 km) and an epicentral location of 18.425N, 72.805W, approximately 18 miles (29 km) west of the mainshock. The location of this second Mw5.9 aftershock is shown on the location map at the top of this page.

According to the USGS shakemap, both of these large aftershocks could have caused up to intensity V (moderate) shaking on the MMI scale in the region of Port-au-Prince. Typically, this amount of shaking would be expected to cause very light damage to property; however in the aftermath of a large earthquake that has significantly weakened an already vulnerable building stock, it could be expected that aftershocks of this size would be responsible for additional property damage.

For more information about the characteristics of this event, please read the RMS Haiti Earthquake FAQ.

	Return to top

Following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday, 12 January, the true scale of this disaster has started to emerge during the last weeks. In response to the earthquake, RMS has compiled a detailed FAQ to address some of the inevitable questions that this event has raised. Please download the FAQ here: RMS Haiti Earthquake FAQ.

The rest of this Cat Update report discusses the extent and severity of the damage, as reported by official government agencies, the media and seen in available satellite imagery.

As yet, there is no official death toll but the latest Haitian Government estimate is that this earthquake has caused 200,000 fatalities and made a further 2 million people homeless. It is highly likely that the death toll will continue to rise as search and rescue teams continue to find bodies beneath the rubble and reach new areas that were inaccessible immediately after the earthquake. RMS’ preliminary estimate of casualties is 250,00. More information on the RMS casualty estimate can be found in the RMS Haiti Earthquake FAQ.

The Red Cross has estimated that across Haiti three million people have been impacted by this earthquake, which equates to around one third of the total population. This is consistent with information from the USGS PAGER system that shows over 2 million people live in the area that experienced ‘very strong to severe shaking’, equivalent to intensity VII to VIII on the MMI scale. This intensity of shaking has the potential to cause heavy damage to vulnerable structures. The building stock in the region includes many non-engineered structures and the overall construction quality is not to a level appropriate for resisting the effects of large earthquakes. The combination of a strong earthquake in a densely populated region and a poor building stock is one of the prime factors leading to the massive humanitarian disaster that this earthquake has caused.

The next section of this report details location specific damage reports. Population estimates in various towns and cities are very uncertain and there is a huge contrast between various sources. The population estimates below are figures from the USGS.

Port-au-Prince
Around Port-au-Prince, a mixture of luxury housing and shanty dwellings extended up the hillsides and there were no anti-seismic building regulations in force. The earthquake’s magnitude and proximity to the capital Port-au Prince (the epicenter was only 15 miles from the city) has resulted in widespread and very severe structural damage in the city. Satellite imagery has been used to help assess the damage and figures released by the European Commission Joint Research Centre show that in Port-au-Prince more than 4,000 buildings have been destroyed or significantly damaged.

Most buildings located in the eastern portion of the city have been subject to at least 10 percent damage, according to satellite imagery from GeoEye (please see document titled ‘Port-au-Prince East Damage Map’ on the right hand side of the page, under the ‘Maps’ heading) large areas have been subject to over 40 percent damage or complete destruction. The Presidential Palace has been badly damaged, with the second floor collapsing onto the first floor. The Haitian Parliament building and the National Cathedral were also destroyed and the UN headquarters in the city has collapsed.

For satellite information of the damage in west Port-au-Prince, please see the linked document titled ‘Port-au-Prince West Damage Map’ on the right hand side of this page under the ‘Maps’ heading.

Other affected towns in Haiti
Ground search and rescue teams are gradually managing to reach areas outside of Port-au-Prince and reports suggest that access to towns to the west of the capital, in Ouest department, is generally good. Some of these regions were affected by the most extreme and violent (up to MMI IX) shaking – as seen in the location map at the top of this page.

Satellite imagery is proving to be a highly valuable resource to help establish the severity of damage in these regions outside of the capital. Early reports indicate that Carrefour, Leogane and Gressier are the most severely damage towns to the west of Port-au-Prince.

Leogane has a population of approximately 12,000, the majority of which live in wooden houses on stilts; many of these houses collapsed as the earthquake struck. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates are that up to 90 percent of buildings in Leogane have been destroyed. Reports from the town indicate that every concrete structure has been destroyed. Please see the linked document titled ‘Leogane Damage Map’ on the right hand side of this page under the ‘Maps’ heading for further information on the damage in Leogane.

Estimates of the amount of damage in Gressier and Carrefour, towns with populations of 4,000 and 42,000 respectively, are expected to be between 40 and 50 percent.

In Jacmel (population 40,000), south of Leogane, air and ground assessments by the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team indicate that around 20 percent of the structures have been destroyed, with many left severely damaged. In this region, some 12,000 people have been left homeless.

To the west, satellite image damage assessment from Grand Goave (population 5,000, see link on the right hand side of this page under the ‘Maps’ heading titled ‘Grand Goave Damage Map’) shows that a significant proportion of the city suffered building damage greater than 40 percent, with totally damaged buildings scattered through this zone.

Petit Goave (population 15,000) is one of the oldest cities of the country and was characterized by numerous major development projects in the main business and residential districts. Reports from Petit Goave suggest that approximately 60 percent of the buildings have been destroyed and approximately one third of the population of the town perished during the earthquake.

In the town of Miragoane (population 6,000), reports indicate that damage is a lot lighter here, with the affected areas generally sustaining less than 10 percent damage as seen in the map on the right hand side of the page under the ‘Maps’ heading titled ‘Miragoane Damage Map’). In Les Cayes (population 45,000), some 125 miles (200 km) from Port-au-Prince, only minor damage has been reported, with 500 wounded, 200 people displaced and 12 houses destroyed – in stark contrast to those towns closer to the epicenter.

Power and Telecommunications
As of Thursday, 21 January the country’s power supply remains off in all areas assessed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; however the electricity distribution system is reported to be mostly intact. The national telecommunications system has been partly restored, with satellite links aiding transmission from the capital to Jacmel and Les Cayes, but there are reports of fuel shortages which would affect the mobile network . The U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Kenneth Merten, reports of limited runway space at the capital’s airport, though road access out of Port-au-Prince, in particular to the west, is generally good – allowing for aid to reach people in affected areas beyond the capital.

Impact to Insurance Industry
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. According to AXCO, the total non-life premium income in Haiti is around USD 19M, making Haiti one the smallest markets in the Americas and reflects the country’s poverty, fragile political situation, and weak economy. Insurance penetration is extremely low at 0.28% GDP, and 1.96 USD per capita. Some 90% or more of Haiti’s insured risks are situated in Port-au-Prince, and motor insurance accounts for 50% of all non-life premiums.

Haiti is a participant of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) set up in 2007 to offer financial protection to governments against tropical cyclone and earthquake disasters. The trigger for the payout is parametric and, for earthquakes, the trigger is an event greater than M5.7 occurring between Latitude 2° and 41° N. Longitude 97° and 51° W. The earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday, 12 January falls within these trigger criteria and some funding has already been made available through the triggering of an $8 million payout. This is the second time the pool is triggered since its inception in 2007. The first instance was a 7.4 Magnitude earthquake in November 2007 off the coasts of Martinique.

Other Caribbean Countries
Despite neighbouring Haiti, and experiencing MMI shaking above intensity V according to the USGS ShakeMap, there have been no initial reports of damage to property or casualty in the Dominican Republic. Whilst the earthquake was felt widely across the Caribbean, no damage has been reported in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos or Jamaica.

For further information about the probabalitity of an earthquake on nearby faults, and the secondary hazards that have contributed to the loss in Haiti, please download the RMS Haiti Earthquake FAQ.

	Return to top